Thankfully, those teams turned down the Pac-10’s invitation, most likely because they figured they could make more money if they stuck together and saved the Big 12. There are few if any saints in this ongoing story.

The Pac-10 has already added Colorado, and there’s apparently a good chance it will add Utah. That would give them 12 teams, the minimum required to break into two divisions and hold a Pac-10 football championship game. And yes, that’s another decision driven by the pursuit of TV dollars. But at what cost?

The Pac-10’s oh-so-fair round-robin football format is dead. That format produced truly legitimate champions because every team played every other team each season. Now, some teams will have easier schedules than others and, most likely, one division will turn out to be easier than the other – which is one of the problems Big-12 football has faced.

You have to wonder when this mad scramble will end. Are conferences going to continually raid each other, year after year, and continually re-align?

Who knows? Maybe one day Florida, Florida State, Miami, South Carolina, North Carolina and Duke will be part of the Pac-24 Southeast.

1 comment:

Well, maybe not an idiot but I disagree with your perspective. The SuperConference idea by Larry Scott was ahead of its time. I wish it had worked so that the Pac-10 folks would be firmly entrenched with the best of the Big 12, and been on firm financial footing for the forseeable future. Yes, that's five F's!!!

I remain skeptical that what's left of the Big 12 will be able to get at least the same revenue as they currently get since Texas is now free to create its own network and keep ALL of its revenue. Sooner or late, that conference will crumble...and we need to resume efforts to get the best of them into the Pac-12 fold.

About Me

After nearly 30 years as a sports writer and columnist for the Contra Costa Times, Eric is now a freelance writer, editor and blogger. He was a 49ers beat writer for 10 years, including three Super Bowl seasons, and spent time on the Cal football and basketball beats. He has covered multiple Super Bowls, U.S. Opens and Masters, as well as the NBA, NHL and major-league playoffs.